Construction hit an all-time high last November and it’s showed no signs of slowing down. ConstructionConnect.com gives us a list of five commercial construction trends of 2018. From continued labor shortages to an increase in construction technology, there are many trends in the construction industry that are worth keeping an eye on.
Continued Labor Shortages
Ever since the construction industry started recovering from the Great Recession, it has dealt with labor shortages throughout areas of the country. This is expected to continue in 2018 as firms struggle to find enough skilled craft workers to meet the growing demand in order to keep pace with the increase in construction spending and starts expected this year.
The construction industry added 210,000 jobs in 2017, with 30,000 of those, mostly specialty trade contractors, being added in December. This is up from the 155,000 added in 2016 but still down from the 336,000 added back in 2015.
A recent survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) shows that 75% of firms surveyed are planning to add headcount in 2018. That’s good news, except when you consider that 78% of firms are currently having a hard time filling skilled labor positions and 82% of firms expect it to remain difficult or become harder to do so.
With the recent reduction in the corporate tax rate, it will be interesting to see if construction firms invest those savings into creating training programs to lure more workers to the industry or by increasing wages to attract more workers.
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